The Hoot Of All Evil

Michael Rose

Hoot to Kill

Seth Cifferi

Hoot Suite

Dave Tedder

Hoot 'Em Up

Tim Orth

Iverson was magical, but Lakers were victorious

Everybody in the stadium felt like they were nothing more than kindling for three quarters. The popular Allen Iverson torched the Lakers again and again and again Wednesday night.

Iverson darted around the Pepsi Center floor with boundless energy, carrying the Denver Nuggets along with him for what looked like a joyride to a certain victory.

Then the fourth quarter started and Iverson went cold, the Lakers rediscovered their match and pulled away from the Nuggets down the stretch for a 111-107 victory in front of a sellout crowd of 19,155.

Iverson scored 49 of his 51points in the first three quarters, but went 1-for-4 shooting in the fourth. Kobe Bryant led the Lakers with 25 points, including 12 in the fourth, but was a mere afterthought as Iverson went off in the first three quarters.

In fact, Kobe Bryant sat out almost all of the third quarter because of foul trouble. He also missed much of the second quarter after suffering a bruised left shoulder.

"It's a big confidence boost for us, for everybody to make shots, to make plays with Kobe out," Lamar Odom said after Los Angeles Lakers completed a sweep of their trip to Minnesota and Denver. "It's another boost for him to have confidence in us."

Odom had 17 points, one of four Lakers to score 10 or more points.

And Vladimir Radmanovic added a season high 21 points and Derek Fisher had 20.

However, there was more to the Lakers' game than scoring. Trevor Ariza came off the bench in the second half to help badger Iverson. Andrew Bynum, who did not play Tuesday because of a stomach illness, dominated the paint defensively.

"With Kobe in foul trouble and Iverson with 49 points in three quarter, you'd be looking at a 20-point loss," Odom said. "I guess you could say we took their best punch."

When the encounter got tight in the final minutes, Bryant and Fisher responded as expected.

Bryant scored on a pair of drives to the basket and a midrange jumper down the stretch, helping the Lakers take a 108-104 lead with less than a minute left. Fisher made 3 of 4 free throws in the closing seconds to seal the win.

"We had to absorb a lot of points from Allen Iverson," Lakers coach Phil Jackson said. "I had to sit Kobe out almost the whole third quarter and we survived the quarter and came out of it tied (at 88-all). It was a good victory for us."

It did not come without a few anxious moments, however.

Bryant tumbled to the floor in the closing seconds of the first quarter, stumbling over the left foot of Denver's Eduardo Najera and crash-landing on his left shoulder after attempting to dribble through traffic near midcourt.

Kobe Bryant lay face-first on the floor for several moments before heading to the bench. He suffered nothing worse than a bruised left shoulder and returned to the game midway through the second quarter to help lead the Lakers to a 62-58 lead by halftime.

He left again early in the third quarter, but not because of an injury. The reason was just as hurtful for the Lakers, however. He picked up his fourth foul less than a minute into the second half, trudging to the bench as Sasha Vujacic replaced him.

Neither Bryant's injury nor his foul trouble was the story of the first half, however.

Bryant scored 13 points on 6-for-10 shooting in the first half to lead the Lakers, but Iverson's scoring cast a long shadow over other events.

Bryant could only watch as Iverson shredded the rest of the Lakers.

Iverson shed defenders with a dizzying array of stop-and-go moves that had the Lakers grasping at air as he raced past them. He had 15 points by the end of the first quarter, 33 by halftime and 49 by the end of three quarters.

The Lakers countered with superb shooting from behind the 3-point arc, with Radmanovic making 5 of 6 en route to 17 points by halftime. He finished 6 for 9 on 3s and was 7 for 12 overall.

"I'm not a one-on-one type of player," Radmanovic admitted. "I'm more of a guy who if he gets open shots will take them. I got a lot of wide open shots and they paid for it."

Ten Gun Sal-Hoot

Larry Brogan

Kinky Hoots

Tanja Nixx

Great Kobe was too fast for the Sonics

The Seattle SuperSonics fought hard but yet couldn't find a way to counter Kobe Bryant, who scored 35 points in Los Angeles Lakers' 106-99 victory.

Indeed, the Sonics have now lost 11 of their 13 games this season, including their last five. The Lakers used Seattle's futility to break their own three-match losing streak.

IT's good to say that Lamar Odom added 20 points for Los Angeles, while Andrew Bynum chipped in 12 points and 10 rebounds, and Derek Fisher had 14 points and eight assists.

As we know, Seattle got 25 points from Kevin Durant and 18 from Chris Wilcox. Kurt Thomas grabbed 13 rebounds to go with his seven points, while Earl Watson came off the bench to net 16 more.

And after a closely contested first quarter that saw six ties and seven lead changes, the Lakers edged ahead 30-25 going into the second period. Despite the situation, Seattle battled back to tie it at 54-54 at the half.

Los Angeles Lakers used a 9-2 run in the third quarter to take a double-digit lead but the Sonics pulled back to within 68-64. But they faded and the yellow team led 85-73 going into the fourth quarter and kept them at bay the rest of the way. This result will help Kobe's team a lot in order to find tranquility.

Kobe's 31 points were not enough against Jason Kidd

Jason Kidd and Kobe Bryant were face to find looking forward to get the victory. And in the end, Kidd had 15 points, 14 assists and seven rebounds leading the Nets to a 102-100 win over the Lakers and over Kobe, who had 31 points.

During New Jersey's recent six-metch losing streak, Kidd was quoted in New York papers as saying that the Nets have a habit of "letting go of the rope," and playing with a "glass jaw."

And we can see that his teammates got the message. They've won three straight.

Also Jefferson had 27 points, Vince Carter had 19 in a reserve role and Bostjan Nachbar scored nine of his 15 points in the fourth quarter.

As for Kobe Bryant, he made 15 straight free throws before missing a clutch foul shot with 6.1 seconds to go. The two-time defending NBA scoring champ started out 3-for-16 from the field, going the entire second and third quarters without a basket. His next one came on a layup with 6:13 to play. But during his drought, the Nicks had turned a 14-point deficit into an 85-72 lead with a 16-3 run.

"They were on Kobe really well and they made it difficult for him," Lakers coach Phil Jackson admitted. "I thought that most of his shots were challenged. They stayed down on his pump fakes and he didn't get any rhythm in his shots."

Both squads blew double-digit leads. Carter triggered the Nets' pivotal rally, hitting a three-pointer with 2.6 seconds left in the third quarter to tie it 72-all.

Indeed, the Nets took their first lead of the game 24 seconds into the fourth on Nachbar's layup, and Jefferson capped the run on a layup that gave New Jersey an 84-74 lead with 8:39 remaining.

"The first half was a little bit lackadaisical, and there were probably just a couple of guys playing at a higher speed," expressed Kidd, who had eight turnovers. "But in the second half, I think everyone pitched in. Defensively is where I thought we turned the game around."

And Kobe Bryant made a three-point play and a pair of three-point baskets, all in a 55-second span, and Sasha Vujacic followed with another three-pointer - his only points of the game - to give the Lakers a 96-94 edge with 1:28 left. However, the Nets still managed to come out with the win.

"We didn't execute properly at the start of the fourth quarter," Bryant admitted. "They jumped out to a huge lead on us, and it was an uphill battle for that point on."

The Nets had a three-point lead when Bryant was fouled by Kidd behind the three-point line on an inbounds play. He sank the first two free throws, and despite it, they missed the third and Nachbar got the rebound. He made one of two at the other end after getting fouled immediately by Luke Walton, and Vladimir Radmanovic missed an attempted tying three-point shot at the buzzer.

Derek Fisher, who made 20 points, helped Los Angeles build a 49-37 halftime lead by going 5-for-5 from the field - with all of his shots coming from at least 18 feet out with Kidd guarding him. The Lakers took their greatest lead, 47-33, on Lamar Odom's three-pointer with 3:14 left in the 2nd quarter.

Finally, the Nets finished 3-1 on the road trip, only the third time in the franchise's NBA history that they had a winning record on their annual Thanksgiving trip. They were 3-2 in 1998-99 and 3-1 in 1992-93. Since Jason Kidd's arrival in 2001-02, they have gone a combined 11-21 during their Thanksgiving trips, including 0-4 last season. Good for them.

These Hoots Are Made For Walking

Ryan Rogers

Shake that Hooty!

The first reader submission! Woo hoo! Dan Golan has this gem done by Asi in Art Tattoo, Haifa, Israel.

Hoot Is What We Aim For

Dave Duchane

The Hoot Times #1

Tattoo-free awesome owl story ahead!...

Orphaned owls find new cuddly-toy mum

A group of orphaned baby owls snuggle up to a cuddly toy which has become their surrogate mum after they were found on the brink of death in the wild.

The tiny tawny owl chicks burrow in under the fluffy toy's wings to keep warm after they were separated from their own mothers.

The chicks, all aged between just four and eight weeks, faced certain death as they fended for themselves alone in the wild but are now recovering in an animal hospital.

A group of orphaned baby owls snuggle up to a cuddly toy which has become their surrogate mum after they were found on the brink of death in the wild

Two of them, brother and sister Oscar and Olivia, aged four weeks were brought in by a concerned dog walker who found them being clawed to death by a pair of cats.

A fluffy baby aged around six weeks called Thomas was taken to the animal centre by a member of the public who spotted him lying on the edge of a busy road.

And tiny eight-week-old Tamsin narrowly escaped a nasty end when she was discovered by a cyclist tottering along a popular bike path through a forest.

All four of the nocturnal creatures are now being cared for by experts at the New Forest Otter, Owl & Wildlife Park at Longdown in the New Forest, Hants.

Shiny Hoots Of Leather

Shane O'Neill

Hooters!

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Bryant lead stunning win over the Hawks

Kobe Bryant was the main atraction of the game. The crowd made it clear. And the applause for him continued after the game - in the Hawks' locker room. Bryant, mostly quiet through three quarters, scored nine straight fourth-quarter points to lead Los Angeles to a 90-83 win over Atlanta on Monday night. "You've got to give it to him," said Atlanta's Joe Johnson, who matched Bryant's 27 points but couldn't equal his fourth-quarter impact.

"I have to say that he made some great shots down the stretch, and I was draped all over him for some of them," Johnson honestly admitted.

Indeed, eleven of Bryant's 27 points came in the final period.

"He's a very good player; he's one of the best players who has played our game," said Atlanta coach Mike Woodson. "When he makes a 27-footer, falling away in the corner, you've got to come back on the other end and execute your offence."

As we know, the Hawks were only 4-of-9 from the free throw line in the final part.

And Kobe Bryant said he didn't look at the game as a scoring contest with Joe Johnson.

"To me individually it doesn't mean much at this stage of my career; I've played in so many of those individual battles," Bryant stated. "It's more just, 'What can I do to help us win the match?'

"Maybe some years ago I would have tried to end up with 25 points in the fourth quarter. Now it's not what's important. Once I got on a roll, saw they were double and triple-teaming, I was able to use myself as a decoy."

Furthermore, we must mention that Smush Parker hit a three-pointer after Bryant's nine straight points, and Andrew Bynum and Lamar Odom combined for 28 rebounds.

"I think it's a big difference in our team, and that's the understanding of when enough is enough," Lakers coach Phil Jackson admitted. "And when they started throwing extra bodies at people, there was open opportunities for other players."

Kobe wagged his index finger at Atlanta fans after his fourth straight jumper in his hot streak, which left the Lakers with a 77-71 lead. In fact, Bryant didn't need to tease; it seemed most of the 19,600 fans in Atlanta's sixth sellout of the season were cheering for him, anyway.

We must remember that the Lakers, who beat Atlanta 106-95 at home on Dec. 8, completed their first season sweep of the Hawks since the 1999-00 season. Even in recent seasons, when the Hawks bottomed out with 13-and 26-triumph totals, the Lakers managed no better than a split of the two encounters.

ACtually Jackson announced before the game: "This game is a little space in time. I'm always concerned about Atlanta. We don't play well here."

The Lakers didn't play their best early but still led almost from the start. Smith opened the game with a reverse jam - his first of four flashy slam dunks in the match - but the Lakers quickly pulled even on a tip by Bynum and never again trailed.

Kobe Bryant was held to nine points on 3-for-8 shooting in the first part, but the Lakers led 40-31 as Johnson was only 4-for-13 from the field for 10 points.

Los Angeles Lakers, who held a big lead of 11 points late in the first half, led 55-45 in the third quarter before the Hawks responded to that with eight straight points, including a three-pointer by Josh Childress.

And Kobe Bryant hit a three late in the quarter as the Lakers led 62-57 entering the final period. A really good move that decided the match.

Grizzlies were 10 points better

In an unexpected result, Mike Miller scored 14 of his 25 points during a 46-point third quarter Tuesday as the Memphis Grizzlies beat the Los Angeles Lakers, 128-118.

This loss snapped a four-game winning streak for the Lakers team, which was coming off a 101-98 victory over the Dallas Mavericks, who have the league's best record. And the Grizzlies came into Tuesday's game with the NBA's worst percentage.

In fact, those 46 points were the most the Grizzlies have ever scored in a quarter. Memphis outscored the Lakers by 24 points over the 12 minutes.

Spanish star Pau Gasol also tallied 25 points, leading seven Grizzlies in double figures. Gasol also had 13 rebounds.

As for our star, Kobe Bryant had 25 points for the Lakers, who had a four-game winning streak end.

Lakers boss Phil Jackson had warned his squad not to let down against the lowly Grizzlies, who have a rejuvenated offense and are 3-3 under interim coach Tony Barone.

"I think that we outplay the better teams right now, but we're getting outplayed by the teams that aren't as good," Lakers forward Luke Walton said. "Sometimes, we end up winning at the end, but this is too good of a league and too long of a season to get a high playoff seed if we keep playing like that."